Japanese students have sparked yet another inspired photo meme. This time they’ve put a new twist on the Makankosappo meme that went viral a few months ago. Using “tuba guns” (チューバ砲 “Chuuba Hou”), school band members appear to be blasting one another away with their instruments.

The tuba guns are just the latest in a string of memes that have swept across Japan and beyond as kids create their own versions of each photo craze. In a recent Tweet Beat, we talked about an “Attack on Titan” meme that shows some impressive staging skills, making students appear to be eating each other. We also shared this recreation of “The Death of Socrates,” which has received some 21 thousand retweets.

It is said that the only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping baby. We completely agree, especially when they are the stars of nezo art (which literally translates as “sleeping position art”).

A recent slumber-time tableau by Mami Koide

The art wasn’t exactly made in Japan. The true pioneer in this genre is Finnish former designer Adele Enersen, who rose to Internet fame with her blog Mila’s Daydreams. She photographed her daughter sleeping in various artsy dreamscapes realized with props and costumes. She eventually spun that popularity into a photo book, titled “When My Baby Dreams” and published in January 2012.

While Mami Koide has clearly been inspired by Enerson, the 41-year-old illustrator diverges from the master by giving her dream tableaux a slightly more DIY vibe. In fact, in her self-imposed rules, Koide says creators of nezo art should strive to use everyday objects found around the house as their props. It’s all a matter of taste, but we prefer the more amateurish, homey nezo creations.

Koide is not alone in Japan. NAVER Matome has compiled an array of photos contributed by individuals who have chosen to put their little ones on the slumber stage. You can also check the Twitter hashtag #NezoArt for more. And if that isn’t enough, there’s Koide’s recently publish photo book, “Nezo Art Book.”

Have you seen these hypnotic, strangely beautiful GIF images yet? At a rate of roughly two a week, they’ve been appearing on a Tumblr blog called rrrrrrrroll that is dedicated to the project and run by a group of friends.

Sometimes it’s a young woman spinning on an axis, at the unhurried pace of a ceiling fan set on low. Other times it’s an object — an umbrella, or an electric rice cooker, for example — set in motion. A simple concept, yet undeniably captivating.

According to the group’s Facebook page, the blog has attracted more than 10,000 followers. Not too shabby for a group that only started uploading photos in April.

And a hat-tip to Tofugu for the find . . . though it was Huffington Post that first shined the big light on the rrrrrrrrollers.

Former yakuza busted in nationwide sting (from Tokyo Reporter): A story with all the makings of a mob classic, but this time it’s for real. Kenichiro Nakao, a former member of the Dojin-kai criminal organization, claims he had nothing to do with the fraudulent activity he’s been arrested for — big surprise there. The more you read, the more “former gangster” sounds like an oxymoron.

Homemade hayashi chuuka bento (from Being A Broad): Hiyashi chuuka is a healthy dish perfect for taking to school or the office. Here is a simple recipe with different combinations of meat and vegetables as well as detailed instructions on how to prepare it. Simple, delicious and inexpensive.

The life of director Ichikawa Kon (from Japan Navigator): Japanese culture blog Japan Navigator profiles the long life and career of film director Ichikawa Kon, active in the industry from 1936 until his death in 2008. Within his extensive filmography he is best known for “The Burmese Harp” (1956), “Alone in the Pacific” (1963), and “The Tokyo Olympiad” (1965). A must-read for fans of Japanese cinema.

Visual pulse:

J-vlogger Ciaela and her friends translated Adele’s hit “Someone Like You” into Japanese. The result is completely professional — and just as likely as the original to get stuck in your head.

Climbing season is just getting under way at Japan’s Mount Fuji. Every year hundreds of thousands of people make the trek to the summit—note the massive line of people in the lower-left corner. This photo, from panorama-photo.net, was uploaded by “Rio Akasaka,” who snapped it from the summit this weekend after a rainy trek. What an amazing view! For English-language resources and information on climbing Mount Fuji, see Fujiyoshida City’s official website.

Here are the latest Pulsations, links to fresh stories and visuals about Japan, shout-outs to fellow bloggers, and highly clickable stuff that we think you might enjoy.

In no particular order, they are . . .

Why raising the consumption tax is a good idea, and good politics (from Mutant Frog): A must-read for anyone who wants to engage in the debate. Blogger Adam Richards offers a reasoned argument on why raising the consumption tax is good fiscal policy as well as a wise political move. The debate in the comments is smart, too.

Fujimori’s new “Trojan Pig” tea house (from Spoon & Tomago): Japanese architect extraordinaire Terunobu Fujimori is famous for designing striking and unique tea houses. His latest creation, which has been likened to a “trojan pig,” does not disappoint. But why a pig?

Sculpture or photography? (from Art It): We all know photographs can freeze a moment in time, but have you ever considered sculpture as a medium for doing so? Artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has. Read about how he started creating these full-size scenes, his ideas, inspiration, and latest solo exhibition at Gallery Side 2 in Tokyo.

Japanese photo exhibit on Korean “comfort women” sabotaged (from Global Voices): During World War II, the Japanese military forced tens of thousands of foreign women into sex slavery for soldiers overseas. Known as “comfort women” these victims were made to endure horrible atrocities. Ahn Se-Hong, a South Korean photographer who documented the now aging women, has faced numerous obstacles leading up to and during his Tokyo exhibition.

Green-roofs in Saitama Prefecture (from Japan for Sustainability): No, those aren’t weeds you see growing on the roof of your local konbini. Well, they might be, unless you live in Saitama Prefecture. The region has introduced a green-roof project for local convenience stores, which can help off-set carbon emissions.

Hot on the heels of the toy camera trend, which saw photography buffs embracing cheaply made vintage cameras like the Lomo and Holga for their blurry over-saturated aesthetic, comes the toy digital-camera (トイデジカメ) boom, in which hobbyists bypass the expense of developing film while still achieving the same analog effects.

Although purists may turn up their noses at such inventions as the Digital Harinezumi, whose shape recalls a old-school film cartridge, the camera has been a such a big hit in Japan that its maker, Tokyo-based SuperHeadz, has released the Harinezumi 2++. Shots can be framed the old-fashioned way by using the square, plastic viewfinder above the lens, and pictures and film can be shot in monochrome or Super-8 style color. Because the image is deliberately grainy and fuzzy, image quality is not a priority with these types of cameras: Harinezumi 2++ shoots its nostalgic pictures at only 3 megapixels. And, in case you were wondering, harinezumi means “hedgehog” in English. Go figure.

SuperHeadz has also cannily promoted the toy-camera trend by publishing photography books via its publishing arm, PowershovelBooks. Titles include books such as “Toy Camera Zoo,” which is filled with bright, fuzzy images of animals captured by toy-camera enthusiasts. To further fuel the fire, SuperHeadz will be putting on a special Harinezumi photo fair, Aug. 20-29, at Laforet’s event space in Harajuku, where new colorful versions of the Harinezumi will be available to buy and a new product is set to be unveiled.

SuperHeadz isn’t the only Japanese company producing toy digital cameras. Vistaquest recently released the waterproof VQ8950, the latest in their toy digicam range, which includes the VQ1005, a miniature 1.3 megapixel camera that clips onto a key ring. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before the big-name camera manufacturers throw their hats into the ring?

While the charm of these cameras is undeniable, we do have to point out that it’s possible to achieve the same toy-camera effects on iPhone apps or with image software such as Analog Color, so it’s hard to say what edge the lo-fi digicams have, excepting, of course, their cool retro designs.

Toy-camera enthusiasts hungry for more info on the Japanese scene should visit the Toikamera (トイカメラ) website,which is filled with camera news, forums and photo galleries.

Japan plays its first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, against Côte d’Ivoire this weekend. Although the tournament kicks off two days earlier in São Paulo, for many the Samurai Blue’s opening game ushers in the event, along with the activities that would normally raise eyebrows but get a pass every four years, such […]